The public art that I find intriguing is the playground floor of I.S 72, which I attended from the grade 6 to grade 8. I live only five minutes from this school and I pass the playground whenever I go to church on Tuesday nights for a college Bible study meeting. The colors of the playground also catch my eye when I pass on Friday nights, but they seem even more vibrant and appealing when I pass on Sunday mornings on my way to teach Bible study.
Even though I live so close and pass it often, I never paid much attention to the playground. However, one day I decided to take a closer look. When I was a student, the playground’s pavement was covered with fading grey paint with white lines which had long since lost their crisp, definition so, the pavement had a rather hum-drum appearance. The upgrades were impressive – almost shocking. Looking back, I am very surprised that I had any fun in that depressing playground!
Now, the playground has educational figures in welcoming colors painted on a bold matte black background. Splashes of dark and light blue, green, orange, pink, yellow, and red invite children and parents to enjoy this recreational space. Here everyone can enjoy playing basketball, soccer, kickball, baseball, softball, track, and football, just relax or play chess on the comfortable, chestnut brown chairs.
The playground is divided into two parts. On one side of the playground, there are six basketball hoops with nets. When I attended I.S. 72, the nets were either in disrepair or completely torn off. It seemed as if no one really cared about the state of the playground. Now there are six carefully arranged basketball courts each with an orange, and light and dark blue color scheme. A bright green soccer field highlighted in white sits in the middle of the basketball courts. The face of an angry bulldog, the mascot of I.S. 72, decorates the center of the soccer field. At the bottom of the soccer field, there is a map of the world bordered by a brightly colorful periodic table in pink, dark blue, light blue, orange, green, yellow, brown, and red.
On the other side of the playground, children can play kickball in a green box-shaped area enclosing a brown circle outlined in white with a caramel brown border. Below the painted kickball field, there is the map of the United States of America in green outlined in white. On the bottom right corner of the map, there is a list of all the states in bold white letters which are adjacent to a red track field outlined in white. The same color scheme of the kickball field decorates the baseball field which sits to the right of the track.
Returning to I.S. 72 brought back some fond memories of my being there for middle school. I was so happy to discover that The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation had repainted and remodeled the school’s playground as part of its program called The Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative. It is gratifying to see how much effort has been invested in improving the playground. Now students can learn as they play in an environment which combines lessons in geography, science, and health all in a playground setting. Chaos has been replaced by public art which benefits the entire neighborhood. Each time I pass this playground, I am proud to live in an amazing community that encourages students to stay active in an educational environment.
